Hi, everyone. Today, I'm cooking with Angela and Jake in my new release, A MAN TO TRUST.
Here is part of a fun little scene I think you will enjoy. The recipe can be found at the link below the scene.
What am I
doing? Angela
raced to the refrigerator and opened the door to test the firmness of the dough,
taking time to clear her mind from the sensual daze induced by Jake’s
kisses.
Heat
scorched her cheeks. If the timer hadn’t gone off, would she have let him take
her right there on the table? She sprinkled flour onto the counter and placed
the dough on it, forming it into a square.
“Can I
help?” Jake’s husky voice drifted over her sensitive nerves as he came up behind
her and heat radiated from him as he positioned himself at her
back.
She
pushed hair from her face and reached for the rolling pin, not looking at him.
She felt like a gazelle being stalked by a lion.
“No, I’ve
got it, thanks.” She rolled the dough into a rectangle, before folding the short
ends over the middle to make three layers. Turning the dough a quarter turn she
rolled it away from her into another large rectangle.
“That
looks complicated.” Jake placed an arm at each side of her, then gripped the
counter and peered over her shoulder. Effectively caging her in, his warm,
minty, breath feathered across her face. “Explain to me what you’re doing. I
might like to make it for my son sometime.”
Her hands
trembled when she folded the short ends over the middle again to make another
three layers. Normally, she’d place the dough back in the refrigerator at this
point for another twenty minutes, but if she worked fast enough she could skip
that step. And she wanted to get this done as soon as possible and put some
space between her and Jake. Afraid she would throw herself back into his
arms.
She
glanced over her shoulder and met his heated gaze. His eyes smoldered with
banked lust. “Seriously?”
He
nodded, watching her with a predatory gleam in his
eyes.
She took
another shaky breath and glanced back down. “Okay. It—it’s a simple recipe
really. I’m making dough for Pear-Hazelnut Tarts. I’ll write it down for
you.”
“That’d
be great.” His body pressed up against her.
Angela
gulped. “Well—well, first you prepare the dough, then you need to wrap it in
plastic wrap and refrigerate for about
half an hour.”
“Uh huh.”
He leaned in and nuzzled her ear. “Refrigerate the dough. Got
it.”
Her mind
went into lockdown. Nothing but silence and sexual tension filled the room.
“I’m
listening,” Jake brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Flour,” he murmured,
nuzzling her neck.
“Oh.” Her
body was wound tight and desire pooled in her belly, and her breasts felt heavy
and aching with the need to be touched. A tremor ran through
her.
She gave
the dough another turn and again folded the ends over. “After you remove the
dough from the refrigerator, you need to roll it flat, and shape it into a large
rectangle, then fold the short ends over the middle so that it makes three
layers.” She demonstrated it for him, although she didn’t really think he was
paying attention.
“Right.
Three layers,” he repeated. One hand slid to her stomach, tugging her
closer.
Angela’s
pulse raced. “Umm. Repeat this four times,” she managed to say. “The dough needs
to remain firm, if not . . . if not, put it back in the refrigerator for another
fifteen minutes before continuing.”
“Mmm,
sounds like a lot of work.”
She gave
her shoulders a little shrug to loosen his arms from around her. “Some space
here, please,” she said, breathlessly.
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This rustic tart, with its shingled
sliced pears and frangipane-like hazelnut filling, is the perfect ending to a
fall meal. Making puff pastry from scratch is vastly simplified when you use
this rough puff pastry technique, but you can also substitute store-bought puff
pastry in a pinch
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